October 26, 2006

Case's Sears Undergraduate Design Laboratory Unveiled to Public November 1

The Case School of Engineering, Northeast Ohio Electronics Cluster and Larry Sears will publicly showcase the new Sears Undergraduate Design Laboratory to a public gathering of Northeast Ohio Electronics industry and academic professionals on November 1, from 6:00-8:30 pm at the Glennan Building on the Case campus. The event will be hosted by the Northeast Ohio Electronics Cluster, a program of NorTech, which aims to drive cohesion and collaboration among professionals in the electronics industry.

Larry Sears, founder of Hexagram Inc., a Cleveland-based electronics company that designs wireless meter-reading systems for utility companies, and his wife, Sally Zlotnick Sears, provided the $6M gift to the Case School of Engineering in March 2006 to fund the Sears Undergraduate Design Laboratory. The donation from Larry and Sally Sears marked the largest outright gift from an individual in the engineering school's history.

"The purpose of this facility is to provide Case electrical engineering students with an environment that will promote and encourage hands-on engineering and design," said Larry Sears. He continued, "The intent of the center is to create a permanent, well-funded, state-of-the-art space that is exclusively devoted to nurturing the creative intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit of our undergraduates."

On November 1, both Larry Sears and Norman Tien, Nord Professor of Engineering and chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Case, will discuss electrical engineering education, the creative process, and the significance of the Sears Undergraduate Design Laboratory to Case, our region, and the electronics industry. Larry will follow with details on Hexagram's success story, the technology behind their meter reading telemetry system, and electronics entrepreneurism in Northeast Ohio.

The new Sears Undergraduate Design Laboratory will support all electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) circuits courses and provide students with superior technical resources that enhance the school's core educational mission, while raising the level of visibility of the EECS department.

"Larry and Sally's vision was that this gift would transform electrical engineering and computer science at Case," said Norman Tien. "This facility improves our ability to both recruit students and to allow them to become real-world problem solvers."

Housed on the third floor of the Glennan Building on the Case campus, the Sears Laboratory features a new lecture hall, updated engineering equipment, renovated lab space, student lounge and meeting area. In addition, specialized lab space is available for senior projects, interdepartmental programs, individual entrepreneurial activities and informal undergraduate projects.

"The new Sears Lab at Case is a big win for our region, as it will serve to educate, train and attract electrical engineering and computer science students from in and outside of Northeast Ohio. We know our region needs to be retaining and attracting more engineering and computer science students to meet regional demand for technology related jobs, and the new Sears Lab will help us reach that goal," said Chris Mather, Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Electronics Cluster and Vice President of Technology and Entrepreneurship at NorTech.

Sponsors of Northeast Ohio Electronics Cluster event include: Case Western Reserve University, Frantz Ward LLP and NorTech. The event is free and open to the public--pre registration is requested; walk-ins welcome. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvre will be served. For more information and to register, please contact Melissa Shrewsberry at 216-363-6883 or at Melissa@nortech.org.

Providing unparalleled engineering education and research for more than 125 years, the Case School of Engineering is committed to "Engineering…Plus": education beyond the classroom, research across the disciplines and relationships around the world. Wherever they go, Case faculty, students and alumni consistently lead their fields and have a beneficial impact on society.

NorTech's technology and business leaders are strategic drivers of the region's technology-based economic development agenda. The organization work's to align and leverage regional technology assets to build a globally competitive technology economy in Northeast Ohio. NorTech promotes research, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology industry growth throughout the region for the benefit of all citizens.

Case Western Reserve University is committed to the free exchange of ideas, reasoned debate and intellectual dialogue. Speakers and scholars with a diversity of opinions and perspectives are invited to the campus to provide the community with important points of view, some of which may be deemed controversial. The views and opinions of those invited to speak on the campus do not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration or any other segment of the university community.